Mudkips
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: A series of Tokka-related drabbles and oneshots. #12: "Don't Scare Me Like That," wherein Sokka comes to Toph's rescue.
1. Ice Cream

Drabble #1: "Ice Cream"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Nickelodeon, not me.

**Drabble #1: "Ice Cream"**

**Setting: Season three, in a Fire Nation town.**

The unreasonably hot weather was beginning to take its toll. Toph scowled. She missed the peaceful, balmy weather of Gaoling, where the sun shone without burning and there were plenty of trees and grass and flowers. The heat seemed to be wearing down on Sokka and Katara too; it was such a far cry from the ice and snow they'd lived in all their lives. Only Aang, as usual, seemed unflappable. Then again, he could make his own air conditioning.

"Hey, Katara," Sokka whined.

"What?" she sighed.

"Let's take a little break."

"Sokka, we're only in the marketplace. It's not like we're hiking through the desert or anything," Katara retorted.

"But it's hot!" he insisted. "Look, there's an ice cream stand over there. Let's get some."

"I don't know." Toph heard the jingle of the coins in the purse.

"It does sound good," Aang said cheerfully.

"C'mon, Katara," Sokka urged. "Nice, cool ice cream."

Toph's thoughts drifted. "Sounds like a good idea to me," she said.

"Vote of three to one, ice cream wins!" Sokka said.

"Fine," Katara sighed. "And I guess I have to go get it myself?"

"I'll help you," Aang offered.

"Toph and I'll sit over there," Sokka announced. "C'mon." He grabbed her by the arm and dragged into the shade, where he plunked her down on a bench.

"You do know I can walk on my own," Toph snapped.

"Sorry, I guess I'm excited." Toph sat down. Sokka perched on the back of the bench. "It's just so hot. All I can think about is snow and cold stuff."

"I know what you mean," Toph said. "Well, about cold stuff, at least. I'm sick of all this heat. It makes the ground all dry and crumbly." _And almost too hot to walk on_, she almost added.

"Does it snow in Goaling?" Sokka asked.

"Not really," Toph shrugged. "Well, it kind of flurries in winter, but it's only really snowed a couple of times, and I was never allowed out of the house to see it."

"Really?" Toph figured Sokka would sound surprised. "How come?"

"Blind kid, remember?" she reminded him. "My parents thought I would freeze to death or something if I went outside. It felt funny, though. Snow is so light it barely makes any kind of vibration at all. It was like getting tickled with a feather."

"All right, here you go," Katara said. "There's four flavors. Who wants what? And before anyone says anything, I claim the green tea one."

"Chocolate," Sokka said, his arm brushing the top of Toph's head as he reached for the cup.

"Toph, what do you want?" Katara asked. "There's mint and strawberry."

"Mint sounds good," she said, holding her hands out. Katara handed her the cup.

"Strawberry? That's such a girly flavor," Aang said. "I wanted green tea." Toph fumbled around the edge of the cup for the spoon.

"Stuff it in your face and smile, Avatar, 'cause that's all you're getting."

Toph scooped up a bite of ice cream and set it in her mouth. The cool, light ice cream melted on her tongue. Her shoulders sagged in happiness. She took another big bite, enjoying the texture and the flavor.

"Oh, this is so much better," Sokka moaned happily. "Remember when we were little, Katara, and Mom made snow cream for us? This is almost as good as that."

"Mm-hm," Katara said, licking a drip off the back of her hand.

"What's snow cream?" Aang asked.

"It's like ice cream, but you make it with snow," Sokka explained.

Aang's eyes widened. "Did you bend the snow into ice cream?" he asked.

"Well, sometimes when Mom let me practice, yeah," Katara said.

Aang's eyes were now as big as dinner plates. "You can bend ice cream?"

"It's got ice in it," Toph said. "You'd think this would be obvious."

"I want to try!" Aang said.

"Not here, you won't," Toph said. "I have no intention of having my ice cream ruined by you two."

"Fine," Katara said. "We'll be right back. And then we're going to finish our ice cream in peace, Aang. I'm not wasting perfectly good green tea ice cream on bending practice."

"Mine's just strawberry. It doesn't matter," Aang said.

"If you don't like strawberry, why did you make me get some?"

Their voices blended with the crowd as they walked away. Toph took another, smaller bite of ice cream. She wanted to make it last.

Gradually she became aware of eyes locked onto her. "Are you staring at me?" she demanded.

"No," Sokka stammered. "Yes. Well…"

"Spit it out, what do you want?" Toph asked.

"Well…how can you eat?"

Toph turned her head in the direction of his voice and lowered her thin eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"You can't see your mouth," he said.

"Neither can you," she retorted.

"That's not what I meant," he said. "You can't see your cup either. But somehow you can always tell where everything is. What do you do? Do you sense the vibrations of your food or something?"

Toph lowered her head and mumbled her answer into her cup of ice cream before taking an enormous bite.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I have a system," she blurted out, spitting ice cream somewhere in front of her; she half-hoped it wasn't on Sokka. "I worked out a system a long time ago, okay?"

"What kind of system?" he asked.

She didn't want to answer. She'd kept it a secret for this long already, and no one seemed even remotely close to catching on. But he sounded sincerely interested. "I touch everything on my plate," she finally said.

"What?" Confusion. Ah, this she had expected.

"I tap around the edges of my plate to figure out where everything is," she said. She gestured with her spoon, touching around an imaginary plate. "Then I just have to remember where everything is, and I can usually function just fine."

"That's pretty cool, Toph." He understood now. She took a normal-sized bite. "But how do you find your mouth?"

Or maybe not. Toph rolled her eyes. "Everyone can find their own mouth, stupid," she said. She stabbed her spoon into her melting ice cream and set the cup down on the bench. "Here. I'll cover your eyes and you try to get the spoon to your mouth, okay? Pretend to be me."

"I'm Toph, I'm the greatest earthbender ever, I'm going to kick you in the shins," Sokka promptly said in a horribly high falsetto.

Toph cuffed him on the shoulder. "Stop it," she ordered. "I do not sound like that!" She stood on her knees and cupped her hands over his eyes. His spoon clinked against his teeth.

"Hey, that's easier than I thought," he said. He took another bite.

"See, there you go," she said. She dropped her hands and picked up her ice cream.

"Yeah, but can you find my mouth?"

Toph dropped her spoon. "What?" she sputtered.

"Betcha you can't find my mouth," he taunted.

"What do you want me to find it with, my fist?" she demanded.

"No, no, nothing like that," Sokka said. "I'll hold out my spoon, and you hold out yours, okay?"

"That sounds dumb," she said. "I'm not wasting my ice cream on you."

"Aw, you just can't do it," he said.

Toph dug out a spoonful of ice cream. "All right, all right," she caved. She held out the spoon. Carefully she slid her knee so it was touching his; it was nearly impossible to read any kind of vibrations through the wooden bench. His skin was dry and warm. He raised his arm and held out his spoon. Toph leaned forward. Judging from the angle of his arm, the spoon should be…

The spoon poked against her cheek. "Hey!" she snapped. "You did that on purpose!"

Sokka's mouth tugged on the bowl of her spoon. "You were close," he mumbled through the mouthful of mint ice cream. He readjusted the spoon.

The creamy chocolate ice cream filled her mouth, blending smoothly with the taste of mint. Toph swallowed. "You did that on purpose," she repeated.

"No, I didn't," he said. Toph sighed. She could tell he wasn't lying.

"All right, so I couldn't see where your spoon was," she grumbled.

"I probably…" Toph swiped at the drip of chocolate on her cheek and stuck her finger in her mouth. Through their touching knees she felt his heart rate spike, although she couldn't see a reason why. "…uh…it was probably just a fluke. I know you can do it." He cleared his throat. "Wanna try again?"

"No," she said.

"Don't you like chocolate ice cream?" he asked.

She scooped a bit of his ice cream with her finger and licked it off. Again, the heart rate spike. "I never said that," she said.

"Hey!" he said. Her cup shifted in her hand as he scooped up a large fingerful of ice cream. "Now we're even. Ha!"

Toph pulled a face and reached for his again. Before she could lick off the ice cream, though, Sokka put her finger in his mouth. She jumped, startled. "What did you-"

Sokka jerked back and tumbled of the bench. "Nothing," he stammered.

"Hey, guys, guess what?" Aang said. "You can bend ice cream! But…it kind of makes your hands all sticky."

"What are you two up to?" Katara asked.

Sokka's spoon scraped around the edges of the bowl; Toph heard him shove the entire remainder of his ice cream into his mouth. "Nothing," he mumbled.

"Really," Katara said in her know-it-all-little-sister voice.

"Really," Toph said. She sipped her melted ice cream, hiding her pink cheeks behind the rim.

"Well, break's over. Let's get going," Katara said.

"First thing…let's find a fountain or something," Aang said. "Seriously, my hands have never been this sticky before."

Toph trailed behind the others, the soft thumpings of their feet echoing through her soles. Slyly she tapped her toes, sending a pebble into Sokka's calf. He turned around. Toph quickly dipped her finger into her ice cream and licked it off.

Again with the heart rate spike. She still didn't get it, but hey, any method of teasing Sokka was good with her.

**-**

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**Author's Note: **

Ah, the first of my Tokka drabbles. I love Tokka. Really, I do. Toph is my favorite character in the Avatar universe. She's so tough and irascible, yet she's an adorable little girl to write…and a DIFFICULT little girl to write. First of all, trying to get the right blend of that kind of personality and keeping in canon is hard, although I've been writing Anna Kyoyama from Shaman King for so long that isn't _quite _so hard. But then writing her without mentioning visual details is hard to remember. For instance, I wrote "Aang shrugged" before I realized…Toph's sitting on a wooden bench, which cuts down her vibration-sense. So how does she know he's shrugging? Many a good Toph fic is besmirched by too many visual descriptions. Hopefully I don't have too many.

By the way, Aang probably won't show up as much as the Water Tribe siblings, for the simple reason that as much as I adore him, he's not very fun for me to write. I have no idea why, but this happens often. Please notice, Manta Oyamada shows up in about two of the thirty or so Shaman King fics I have for the same reason. Although, to Aang's credit, he's a much snazzier character than boring ol' Manta.

I have no idea if you can really bend ice cream. Also, strawberry is my favorite. I don't know why Aang doesn't like it. Because…it's pink? Make up your own reasons, okay?

This is dedicated to my fiancé Patrick. Why? Because I gave Sokka one of his quirks, that's why. He knows which one.

**COMING UP NEXT: **"Tactile"


	2. Tactile

Drabble #2: "Tactile"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Nickelodeon, not me.

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**Drabble #2: "Tactile"**

**Setting: Season two, while traveling**

Sokka groaned heavily. "Why must we do this?' he complained.

"It's a natural part of life, Sokka," Aang shrugged.

"Yeah, I know, but do the girls have to decide _now _to wash everyone's clothes?" Sokka whined.

"Sokka, we've been traveling nonstop since Gaoling," Aang said. "We're all gross. It's about time we washed our stuff."

Sokka kicked his legs grumpily in the water. "Yeah, well, whatever," he said. He flopped backwards into the muddy shoreline.

Early that morning, Katara had stood up and issued her decreed. "All right, everyone," she had declared with a clap of her hands. "Today is laundry day."

Toph had folded her arms and scowled. "I like my dirt," she had said.

"Too bad, you're going to help me." And with a demanding tug, Katara had dragged Toph away. The boys left their piles of dirty clothes at camp and gone farther down the river to clean up.

And that was where they were now.

"Sokka, you've got to admit, it's pretty nice to take a break," Aang said. He stood in water up to his knees, bending little swirls and whirlpools.

"A break, yes," Sokka said. "I'm just so bored. You forget- not a bender. Water doesn't exactly keep my attention all day like it does yours." He scrubbed the mud off the backs of his legs and stood up. "I'm gonna go see if they're done."

He strolled down the riverside. The afternoon sun warmed his bare shoulders, and the light warm breeze ruffled his loose hair. It was a nice day, and Aang was right, it was nice to rest, but still…he was just so tired. Not sleepy tired, just _tired_. He was tired of sleeping on the ground, and eating poorly cooked campfire food, and averting soldiers. He missed home. He missed the cool crunch of snow under his boots. He missed eating Water Tribe food around a table with his sister and his father. He missed falling asleep in his own bed.

Sokka sauntered glumly down the shoreline. He caught sight of a big tree up ahead draped with clothes flapping jauntily in the wind. A pair of his pants dangled from a low-lying branch. "I don't care what Katara is planning, I'm putting those on," he said. He pulled them down.

Behind his pants stood Toph. Dressed in only her green tunic, her small sturdy legs bare in the sunshine, she had her face buried in one of his shirts. Her head jerked up.

"Um, hi?" he said.

Toph's jaw dropped and she threw the shirt in his face, shoving him back on a wave of dirt while she was at it. "You didn't see anything!" she hollered.

"Actually, you're the blind one," he said, throwing his shirt over his shoulder. "I saw plenty. What was that?"

She tore off in the opposite direction. Sokka jogged after her; his long strides easily overtook her short ones. He took her by the arm. "It's my shirt, I think I deserve to know what you were doing to it," he said.

Toph wrenched her arm away, her cheeks so flushed the color of a Fire Nation flag. "I'm not gonna tell you," she stammered.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

This continued for a while.

"Look, Toph, just tell me," Sokka said. "You were making out with my shirt."

"No, I wasn't!" she defended. "I was just…that's how I see things."

"That makes sense," he conceded. "Continue with your explanation."

She opened her mouth to say something, sighed, then tried again. "I can't see stuff, right? So all the other senses are really important, like they're overcompensating or something."

"Good word choice," Sokka said. "Keep going."

"So…I touch everything," she said. Her head was turned in his direction, but her eyes seemed to be focused over his shoulder. "It's just…reassuring, I guess."

He let go of her arm. "I get it," he said. "It's not that weird. Maybe it would be weird if I did it, but…"

"I just like the way things feel," Toph shrugged. She tucked a loose strand of hair away from her forehead and behind her ear. "And the way things smell. I've done it ever since I was little. I used to bury my face in my blanket, just so I could get surrounded by it."

Sokka draped an around her shoulders as they walked back towards the tree. "Well, Toph, if you ever want to get surrounded by my essence, feel free to borrow my shirt any time," he said.

She shrugged his arm off. "You're not wearing any pants, are you?"

He looked down at his loincloth. "No, I'm not," he said. "And neither are you."

Toph blushed and tugged on the short hem of her tunic. "I've got stuff on," she blurted out, the bright red returning to her cheeks.

Sokka took her short pants down from the branch. "Here you go," he said, tossing them to her. He pulled on his pants, hopping awkwardly on one leg. Toph was considerably much more graceful. She tugged on the hem of her tunic again, adjusting it. Sokka reached for her yellow tunic and paused. The cotton was soft and light, but closely woven. He rubbed it through his fingers. It smelled like warm sunshine and soap, but it was missing something.

"What are you doing?" Toph asked, her hands on her hips and her eyes trained on his bare chest. Sokka's ears started to flush until he remembered that she couldn't see his half-nakedness.

"Nothing," he said.

She stomped over and took hold of her yellow tunic. "I'll take that," she said.

Her arms brushed against his. Toph's skin was soft, much softer than his. As she stepped close, he caught the scent of her skin- sunshine, and grapefruit-scented soap, and just a tiny bit of grass and earth. He smiled.

"I don't know what you're doing, but you're weird," Toph said.

**-**

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**Author's Notes:**

So Sokka had one of my fiancé's quirks in the earlier entry. Now Toph has one of mine. I am the most absolutely tactile people you'll ever meet. I love touch, I love the way things smell…it's just so soothing and comforting to me. I figure that Toph, being blind, would have the same kind of compulsion as I do, if not even more so. So yeah. Toph loves the familiar feel of Sokka's clothing and the way he smells, just because that's how she identifies him and is comforted by him.

**COMING NEXT: "**First Flight"


	3. First Flight

Drabble #3: "First Flight"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Nickelodeon, not me.

**Drabble #3: "First Flight"**

**Setting: Right after "The Blind Bandit"**

"Just climb up, Toph, it's not that hard," Katara called.

Toph gripped a handful of Appa's thick fur and pulled herself up. Appa grumbled in protest. Toph gritted her teeth. It was impossible to get a decent footing. She scrambled up, trying to catch her heels on something solid. Toph stretched her arm up and grabbed the edge of the saddle. A hand with long slim fingers wrapped around her forearm and helped pull. The touch sent vibrations rippling upwards; Toph figured out it was Katara and let her yank.

Toph tumbled head over heels onto the floor. "Good job, there," Sokka snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet looked hilarious," she said. Toph settled in the corner, putting her small pack on one side and her Earth Rumble Six belt on the other. "Aren't we going to get this show on the road?"

"Before your father changes his mind?" Katara said.

"Yeah," Toph said.

"Let's go!" Aang said. His voice floated somewhere above Toph's head. A light vibration indicated he glided above her and landed lightly on the saddle. "Appa, yip yip!"

"Wait, what do you mean by-"

The massive creature beneath her lurched. Toph slid halfway down the saddle as the bison climbed upwards in the sky. She squeaked.

"Oh, yeah, 'yip yip' means 'fly' in Appa's language," Aang amended.

"No kidding," Toph grunted. She dug her heels into the cold worn wood of the saddle. Her body was nearly vertical- or, at least, she felt like it was. Slowly Appa righted himself.

Toph's stomach churned as Appa banked sharply. The earth was far too far away for comfort. The wind blew sharply in her face, stinging her eyes and making them water. She dug her short, bitten-off fingernails into the wood, desperate to find a seam. Curse those airbending monks and their detail-oriented crafting skills.

A hand closed around her forehead. Toph almost yelped, but bit down hard on her tongue. She had to make a good impression on these strangers. Rather some pain than look like a wimpy little girl.

The big hand tugged lightly. "You getting airsick?" Sokka asked.

"No!" she snapped. Her heart leaped in her throat as Appa dipped low over the tree tops.

"Hey, there's no shame in that," Sokka said. "You should have seen Katara the first time."

"Hey!" Katara retorted.

"I'm not sick, I just can't see anything," Toph said.

"Well, duh. Aren't you blind?"

"Yes, I'm blind, but I sense vibrations in earth, remember?" she reminded him. "You see any earth?" Appa climbed higher into the cool sky. Toph slid backwards, crashing into a large kneecap.

The big hand let go of her forearm. Toph slid even further, but the hands closed around her waist and moved her forcibly. Sokka's hand slid down her arm, swallowed up her thin wrist, and guided her hand. "There," he said, curving her fingers around a carved wooden handle. "Hold onto that, okay? That'll make it easier."

Toph locked her arms around the smooth round handle. "Thank you," she said, too surprised to be snippy.

"You're welcome," he yawned.

Toph rested her cheek against the wood, worn silky with age. The wind seemed softer now. She smiled.

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**Author's Notes:**

This was inspired by the audio commentary for "The Blind Bandit," when they pointed out that Toph always clung to something while riding Appa. I'd noticed it before, but then I thought "Hm…what would her first time be like?" So yeah.

Next up: "Dress Up"


	4. Dress Up

Drabble #4: "Dress-Up"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryan Konietzko, Michael DiMartino, and Nickelodeon, not me.

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**Drabble #4: "Dress-Up"**

**Setting: During "City of Walls and Secrets"**

The lids of the trunks clanged and clicked, rattling Toph's remaining senses. "I'm sure there's something in here," Katara said.

Toph groaned loudly and flopped backwards on the bed. "I really don't care. Just pick something," she said.

The thumping of Sokka's big feet interrupted the other vibrations. "Would this work?" he asked, flapping some kind of fabric piece in the air.

"_No_," Katara whined emphatically. Toph could almost hear her eyes rolling. "That's a day dress, not an evening dress. You don't wear cotton at a fancy party."

Toph clapped her hands. "Way to go, Sugar Queen, you know something about fancy manners," she said.

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am," Katara said.

"I never said you were dumb. I just said you weren't trained to handle this kind of social event," Toph said.

"I know plenty about social graces," Katara snapped.

"What about this?" Sokka asked. Something clinked into Katara's hands.

"Um…" she stammered. "Well…I don't know…"

"Give it to me," Toph said. Katara placed it in her palm; Toph rubbed its smooth surface. "Pearls are always good. It'll work

"There's plenty of accessories in here, but no dresses," Katara said. She shut a trunk with a solid thunk that made Toph's knees vibrate.

"Well, here's our options," Toph snapped, irritated by the feeling. "We send Joo Dee to go out and get something."

"No," the siblings said immediately.

"Too many questions," Katara said. "She'd want to know why."

"So you and I could go get something, but then we won't have time to do anything with our hair and makeup."

"It takes that long to do hair and makeup?" Sokka said.

"Of course," Toph said loftily. "It takes my mother three hours and two maids to go to a party."

"That's ridiculous," Sokka mumbled under his breath.

Toph poked him in the shoulder. "So you and Aang could go look for something," she said.

"Oh, no," Katara said. "No way am I trusting those two with my clothing choices."

"It's either they pick, or we go naked," Toph said.

"Um, awkward," Sokka said. "Remember, brother in the room? Ew?"

Katara sighed heavily. "Sokka, you and Aang had better go," she said. She scrambled over to the little desk and scratched a charcoal stick across a piece of paper. "But I want it to look this. Make sure the sleeves fall like that. Oh, and pick a color that suits my eyes."

Toph felt Sokka's confusion radiating through the bare soles of her feet. "I can't guarantee anything," he said. "Toph, you have any rules for me?"

She shrugged. "I don't care," she said.

"Okay," Sokka said, rustling the paper. "We'll be back as soon as we can." He loped out of the room, slamming the sliding door behind him. "Aang! We've got an errand!"

Katara cracked her knuckles. Toph winced. "We'd better get ready," she said. "Hair first?"

"Yeah, hair first," Toph said begrudgingly.

"There's some fancy headdresses in here. Should we wear them?"

"Duh," Toph said.

"You don't have to be so snippy," Katara said. "Take your hair down and brush it. And go scrape some your dirt off. I'll start my hair, and then I'll do yours."

"Fine," Toph mumbled. She ambled to the door.

"Get a move on!"

Toph went into the little bathhouse, her bare feet tapping noisily on the clay tile floor. Water bubbled in a fountain in the corner; she dipped her hands in it and splashed her face. Her stomach knotted. She shoved it away and stripped off her outer clothes. But as she rubbed the lightly scented soap over her skin, the anxiety bubbled back up.

She hated parties. Her parents had assigned her an etiquette tutor when she was only six, making her study fine manners and society small talk and all sorts of ridiculous things like that. She disliked the lessons, but everything got worse when she was eleven and her parents made her come to their stupid dinner parties- posing as someone else's child, of course. The simpering over her dress, the pinching of her cheeks, the unnecessary swooning and fawning- it was all just too much. Especially when the ridiculous people walked away and talked amongst themselves, thinking she could no longer hear. Of course, they were too stupid to remember that, devoid of one sense, the other were all the sharper.

"That poor little baby."

"Born blind! Can you imagine?"

"Bless her dear little heart."

"She makes me so uncomfortable, though."

"I know exactly what you mean! That wide open stare-"

"Never looking in the right direction-"

"The way her eyes don't move and she doesn't blink-"

"Positively creepy!"

"Completely frightening!"

Toph savagely scrubbed water over her arms and legs, rinsing off the soap. No, she was not looking forward to tonight.

When she walked back in the room, the smell of hair pomade assaulted her. "What did you do? Baptize yourself with that stuff?" Toph asked, pinching her nose.

"My hair's so wavy. I just want it to lie smooth," Katara protested. She took Toph by the shoulders and forced her to sit down. "I'll do your hair and then your makeup. Just sit still, okay?"

"I can sit still on my own," Toph said, twisting her shoulder and forcing her hands away.

"Well, fine, little Miss…Bitter Queen," Katara said. She pulled Toph's headband off.

"Oh, nice comeback," she scoffed. Katara yanked a long hairpin out, bringing several hairs with it. "Ow!"

"Not so tough now," Katara said. She pulled out the rest of the pins and combs until Toph's hair hung down in a thick cascade over her shoulders and back.

"Careful," Toph warned.

"Oh, so you're tender-headed," Katara said. Toph could hear a wicked grin in her voice, but Katara ran the boar-bristle brush through her thick hair gently. She struggled to sit still as Katara swept locks of her hair up into a bun. "So…what kind of things do I need to remember?"

Toph squirmed as Katara jabbed a pin into her hair. "Don't eat too much," she said. "Bow as gracefully as you can every time you're introduced to someone. If a man flirts with you, accept it without flirting back."

"Oh, men won't flirt with us," Katara scoffed. Toph was silent. "You're not serious!"

"I'm serious," Toph sighed, half raising off her seat as Katara pulled a little too energetically. "I've had men old enough to be my grandfather ask me when I would be old enough to marry."

"That's ridiculous," Katara said.

Toph scratched at the back of her neck; Katara batted her hand away. "Be glad you're not rich, or a noble," she said. "Plenty of us wealthy man's daughters get married off when we're sixteen or so." She bit her lip, debating whether or not to swallow the words that rose up in her throat. They spilled out on their own, whether she liked them or not. "My parents are already taking bids." Katara yanked hard on a lock of hair. "Ow!"

"Sorry," she apologized hastily. "They're _bidding _on you?"

"When a nobleman has a daughter, other noblemen start sending offers as soon as possible," Toph said. "Sometimes they offer for their sons, sometimes they offer for himself, no matter how old they are." Katara fingercombed the loose strands of hair and began braiding them over her shoulders. "All that matters is which houses are being united, whose bank accounts are getting shared. It's all about politics."

"In the Water Tribe, marriages are arranged a lot," Katara said. "But the parents always try to find matches that will work well."

"Was your parents' marriage arranged?" Toph asked, interested. Sokka and Katara didn't talk about their family very often, at least not in any personal details.

"No, not really," Katara said. She combed the other half of her hair and divided it into three pieces. "Maybe half-arranged, I guess you could say. My father saw my mother on the shore when he was out on his boat. She was fishing with a net, so she was standing in the water with her legs bare…and he thought she was beautiful. And a good fisher. When he told Gran-Gran, she told my mother's parents that if they didn't get married she would personally see to it that she didn't marry anyone else." Katara flipped Toph's braids over her shoulders. "Now hold still. I'm going to start putting your makeup on."

Toph tried to stay motionless- which was difficult, as Katara smeared the creamy foundation across her cheeks. "Katara?" she ventured.

"Hm?"

"Are you going to get an arranged marriage?"

Katara laughed as she leaned forward and dabbed blush high on Toph's cheekbones. "I doubt it," she said. "I want to get married, but I want to pick the person I spend the rest of my life with myself, you know?"

Toph thought about the men she met at her parents' parties- their big sweaty hands, their arrogant laughs, their pompous self-promotion. "Yeah," she said.

"Hold still. I'm going to do your eye makeup." The kohl pencil's smooth track over her lashline made Toph's eyelid twitch. "Are you going to go along with whoever your parents pick?" Katara asked.

Toph cracked her wrist as she let the older girl brush shadow over her eyelids. "I don't want to," she said. "But I might have to. They're my parents, and they're very caught up with doing the whole traditional thing. And I am their only child." Her eyelashes lifted up suddenly. "I don't think I'll find anyone on my own though. From what I can tell, I'm not the kind of girl that boys like."

Something cold and wet slicked over her lips. "You're only twelve, Toph," Katara said. "You've got plenty of time for sweethearts. Besides, you're very pretty."

Toph raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Katara said. The soft heady scent of a peony overwhelmed Toph for a moment before she realized that it was being pinned to her headdress. "I predict that when you grow up, you're going to be quite a beauty."

Toph touched her fingertips lightly to her cheek, damp with makeup. "I doubt it," she repeated. She paused and slid to the edge of the seat, pressing her toes to the floor. "The boys are back."

The door banged open. "We've got stuff!" Aang said cheerfully.

Toph felt Katara dash across the length of the room in four long strides. "Get out!" she shrieked, slamming the door shut. "You can't see us yet!"

The door slid open partway. "Aang, let me handle this," Sokka said. "Okay, the box on the top is Toph's. The box on the bottom is Katara's. If we got the wrong size, we didn't mean to offend you."

A big box was thrust abruptly in Toph's hands. She sat down on the floor and opened it warily. Katara ripped the lid off of hers. "This'll do," she said, satisfaction radiating from her voice. "You boys go wait. We'll be ready soon."

Toph lifted her dress out of the box. It felt soft and silky, made with a thin inexpensive silk. She poured it through her fingers back and forth. It made a delicious rushing noise. "What does mine look like?" she asked.

"Hm?" Katara said, muffled by her dress.

Toph held up her dress. The silk smelled like cinnamon, saffron, and vanilla beans. "What does mine look like?" she asked again. "Also, the boys got this from the dress shop by the spice stand, but that's beside the point."

Katara took the dress from Toph's hands. "Oh, Toph, it's beautiful," she said. "It's white and gold. You'll look like an angel."

"I won't look ridiculous?"

"You'll look great," Katara said. "Get dressed. We need to go soon."

Toph pulled off her clothes. Goosebumps popped out on her shoulders, so she quickly pulled the linen underdress on. It felt a little big. Toph slipped her arms through the long full sleeves of the light silk dress and wrapped it tightly around her waist. She smoothed her hands over the slippery surface, frowning.

"Toph," Katara said. "You look beautiful."

"Yeah, whatever," Toph said.

"I mean it," Katara said. "Here's your fan. Oh, and hold still." Toph squirmed as Katara slipped the thin hooks of earrings into her ears. "How do I look? Oh, wait, never mind. C'mon, let's go." She grabbed Toph by the wrist. "Hold up your fan. We should make a good entrance."

Toph held her fan over her lips as Katara flung open the sliding doors. They could only hold the suspense for a moment; and they giggled behind the fans.

"Wow," Aang said. "You look beautiful."

Toph hid her frown. She knew he wasn't talking to her. Katara started to say something, but her jealousy got the better of her, and Toph smacked her on the mouth. "Don't talk to the commoners, Katara," she said haughtily. "First rule of society."

She could tell Katara was annoyed, but she didn't care. Those who received compliments on their looks on a regular basis deserved to have their buttons pushed every once in a while. "We'll get into the party and then find a way to let you in the side gate," she said. Toph followed her demurely. Katara's simple leather boots made a light swishing sound against the stone floor, hidden under her long skirts. Toph swallowed her sigh. It would be easier to spend all night with her feet bare- she could see that way- but she'd have to spend all night paranoid about someone noticing. She tucked her hands in her sleeve and shuffled awkwardly behind Katara.

The marble porch was freezing cold, despite the warmth of the spring night. Toph's sensitive toes curled against the stone.

"Hey, wait!"

"Sokka, what do you want?" Katara asked, exasperated. "We have to leave."

"I forgot something for Toph," Sokka explained.

Toph's stomach flipflopped. "Go on ahead, Katara, I'll catch up," she said.

"I got something for you." His clothes made a rumpling noise as he fumbled in his pocket. "Here."

Toph felt something soft fall into her palms. "What the-"

"I figured you'd need shoes," Sokka said. "They're kind of flimsy, but I thought that if they were thin, you could still feel the ground through them."

"Thanks," Toph said, surprised. She drew up the skirts of her dress and hopped on one foot, trying to wriggle them on.

"Here, let me," Sokka said. He knelt down and slipped one shoe on as she placed her hand on his broad shoulder. "Other one." She balanced on the other foot.

"Thanks," she said again.

Sokka stood up. "Be careful, okay?" he said. "And make sure no one hits on Katara."

"I will," she said, her lips twisting.

"And tell me if anyone hits on you who shouldn't."

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that," Toph said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"No, I mean it," Sokka said. "It's a good thing you don't look like that all the time. We'd never have any peace with you looking this pretty."

Toph snapped her fan open and hid behind it. "I'll try to contain myself," she said.

"Hurry and catch up to Katara," he said. "See you later."

She nodded and hurried down the street, her soft new slippers so thin she could feel every comfortably reassuring cobblestone. The warm night and her quick steps were a good excuse for the pink in her cheeks.

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**Author's Note:**

And, collective squee.

This is one my longer ones, and one of my personal favorites out of the drabbles I've got going. It stemmed from wondering where on earth Katara and Toph managed to find fancy clothes for the party, and it all kind of grew from there.

As to Toph's marriage bids…her parents have let it known in their inner circles that they have a daughter, but she's at boarding school in Ba Sing Se. (The Toph-centric story I'm working on deals with this). So Toph is officially on the market, but no one has seen her yet. Meanwhile, Toph's parents send to parties along with several servants to protect her so that she can get some firsthand experience at a fancy party. So yeah. That's how it works.

Really, this was such a fun drabble to write. I like writing Toph as a burgeoning young lady.

Coming up next: "Thunder"


	5. Thunder

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryke, not me.

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**Drabble #5: "Thunder"**

**Setting: During season 2, while camping**

It started as a dream about chinchilla woodpeckers. Chinchilla woodpeckers and a wooden birdhouse, actually. Slowly Toph realized it wasn't a dream, and there weren't any birds. It was rain.

Toph pulled her face out of the damp dirt and swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, her mind thick with sleep. The ground beneath vibrated softly with repetitive raindrops. A glop of mud from her earth tent splatted on her forehead and she scowled. The constant drumming set her teeth on edge; it drowned out the rest of her senses.

_All right. I'm cold. I'm damp. Mud is falling on my face. The rain is blinding me. _She tilted her head. _Yeah, I can deal_.

She laid down again, tossing and turning to find a more comfortable position. The softening ground made a nice, albeit soggy bed. She closed her eyes.

The ground erupted underneath her in a huge rumble, rippling from the air to the earth. Toph screamed, scrambling backwards, and her tent tumbled around her. She panted. _What was that? _she thought frantically. _Not an earthquake. Not an avalanche. What was-_

"Toph?" a voice asked sleepily. "Y'okay?"

"What was that?" she demanded, clutching her cold wet elbows.

"Thunder," Katara said. "Are you all right?"

Through the sludge she vaguely felt two forms: Sokka and Katara. Toph placed her hands in the mud and dug her fingers in. "That's thunder?" she said. It was very hard to act nonchalant.

"That's thunder," Sokka yawned.

"Do you want to stay in the tent with us?" Katara asked. "We've got the tarp up so you'll stay dry."

Toph dug her teeth into her lip. "Oh, I think I'll-"

The sharp ripple of thunder shook underneath her. Toph scrambled to her feet before she realized what was going on. "You. Tent. Now," Katara said. Toph wobbled in the mud as it squished between her toes. It was impossible to see where she was going. "Sokka, carry her."

"I can walk!" Toph protested. "I'm not that-" She tripped as thunder shook the slippery ground. She pitched forward, falling squarely into a warm body.

"Whoa, careful," Sokka said, his voice rumbling through his chest and against her cheek. Miraculously he was dry; after a moment she realized that Katara was bending an umbrella of sorts overhead.

"I can walk," Toph snapped.

"He's going to carry you," Katara said firmly. "Sokka, bend down." Katara took Toph's wrists and guided her arms around Sokka's neck.

"Jump a little," Sokka said, stifling a small yawn. Toph obeyed. Sokka grabbed the backs of her narrow thighs and hoisted her onto his back. She clung to him as he carried her through the mud. The air crackled with electricity.

A violent rumble shook through Sokka's body. Toph trembled. "Hey, it's okay," he said. "Don't be scared."

"I'm not scared," she mumbled into the back of his neck.

He crouched as he walked into the tent; Toph clung to his back. Sokka swung her around and set her onto the tarp on the ground. "I may not be blind, but I can tell you're lying," he whispered in her ear. She shivered.

"Oh, Toph, you must be freezing," Katara said. A blanket draped around her shoulders. "Get some sleep. I don't think any of us will get much-"

"Unless your name is Aang," Sokka mumbled.

"-but we'd better try anyway," she finished. She laid down next to Toph. "Goodnight."

Toph flopped on her stomach and curled up into a little ball, drawing the blanket around her shoulders. Beside her, Katara's breathing relaxed into slow sleep patterns, blending with Aang's. Surprisingly, Sokka was still awake.

She was beginning to drift when thunder shook the ground beneath her. Toph jumped, her arms flailing into Sokka's side. "Sorry," she whispered.

He turned over. "It's okay," he said. Toph squeezed her eyes shut. "It's okay, really."

"Sorry," she mumbled again.

A big hand touched her back lightly. "It's just thunder. It can't hurt you."

"I know," she said. "Well, it kind of hurts, it-"

The vibrations shook her whole body, blurring her orientation and making her dizzy. She bit the inside of her cheek so hard it started to bleed.

Sokka drowsily draped his arm around her and pulled her against him. "You're okay, you're okay," he said. Toph buried her face in his chest. He smelled like rain and campfires, and the cotton of his tunic was soft and warm. The steady, companionable beating of his heart overpowered the quick light tremble of rain. Sokka gathered the blanket around her. His breathing slowed.

Toph listened to his heartbeat, focusing on the reassuring thumps, letting the sound drown out the rattle of thunder. She didn't even notice when it lulled her to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

And here we have some squishy Tokka preciousness.

If you were a blind kid, wouldn't sleeping outside by yourself during a thunderstorm be absolutely terrifying? (Although now that I think about it, any part of that would be terrifying, even if you could see...)

**Coming up next: "Drowned Rat"**


	6. Drowned Rat

Drabble #6: "Drowned Rat"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.

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**Drabble #6: "Drowned Rat"**

**Setting: Season two, during "The Serpent's Pass"**

The waves splashed over Sokka's feet, crashing cold water into his shoes. Suki was a dark dot on the horizon; she dove into the water and disappeared under the waterline. His heart thudded against his ribs.

Suki reemerged from under the water. Sokka squinted. "She's got Toph," he said. His shoulders sagged. He could see the top of the little earthbender's head break the surface. "She's got her." His eyes darted from his sister and Aang fighting the serpent to Suki and Toph in the water. Suki dragged Toph behind her; water crashed into her small face.

Sokka waded up to his thighs, stretching out his hands. "Are you okay, Suki?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, surprised. Water weighed down her heavy warrior's clothes as she stood up and let go of Toph's arms. Toph pitched forward.

Sokka ducked to grab her. She fell against his chest and he stumbled, trying to regain his balance. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I love almost drowning," she retorted, her voice thick. Her body shook, sending droplets of water flying in the cool sun.

Sokka closed his arms around her, trying to still her trembling. "Seriously," he said. "Are you okay?"

She pushed him away, or at least attempted to. "I'm fine," she said through her teeth. "Just let me sit down."

"Okay," he said, setting her down on the muddy shoreline. Toph curled up on the ground, pressing her cheek and her hands and her feet into the soft dirt. She coughed up a lungful of water and swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'll be happy if I never get in water again," she mumbled.

"Well, maybe next time we're around water you can keep up," Sokka suggested. Suki shot him a sharp look. "What?"

The small girl rolled onto her hands and knees and pushed herself up to her feet. "I'm going to put on dry clothes," she said. "I'll be right back."

Sokka sidled over to Suki. The Kyoshi girl had pulled off her shoes and some of her outer layers, hanging them out in the cold sun to dry. "Is Toph okay?" she asked.

:"Oh, yeah, she's fine," he said, waving his hand.

Suki tucked her hair back. "I think you should go check on her," she said.

"Aw, she's okay," he shrugged.

"Sokka," she said, looking him squarely in the eyes. "I think Toph would really like it if you went to make sure she's okay."

"Why?" he asked. "Isn't she-"

Suki's eyes narrowed. "Just go, Sokka," she said, giving him a shove.

Sokka scowled. "I never know what girls want," he groused. "Last night she's all 'ooh, I like you' and now she's all 'ooh, don't pay any attention to me'." He kicked at a pebble and missed. "Stupid girls."

But despite his grumbling, he felt his stomach twist.

Once again, he failed as a protector.

He should have taken her with him the second they started walking over the ice. The others were fine. He hadn't even noticed that Toph was left behind until he had turned around and seen her tiny figure standing alone in the middle of the sea. But no, he was too busy watching Suki. Not the pregnant woman, not his sister fighting in the middle of the sea, not the defenseless little blind girl stranded in the middle of the ocean, Suki, the leader of the Kiyoshi warriors. If anyone would have been able to take care of themselves, it would have been Suki.

_But Toph's okay_, he reasoned. _She made it out okay. It doesn't matter that I didn't jump in and save her. Suki got her. She doesn't-_

Toph crouched under an overhang, her forehead pressed against her scraped knees, her face hidden behind her hands. Her soaked clothes were heaped on the ground; she was stripped down to her breast bindings and shorts and her damp skin was blue. She clutched her headband in her hands and her heavy wet hair drooped over her neck.

Sokka knelt beside her. "Toph?" he ventured.

She jerked her head away, pressing her fists to her eyes. "I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth, her little chin jutted out at a stubborn angle. "I'm just going to change clothes, and then I'll be back, okay? Leave me alone."

Sokka sat back on his heels. Her shoulders trembled. His overactive imagination took off.

What if Suki hadn't gotten there? What if he had jumped in, but he hadn't been fast enough?

His mind supplied all the images. Toph's small body sinking like a stone to the bottom. Trying to drag her back to the surface. Struggling to get her to breathe. Her pale, still, motionless face. He stared at her, and in one fast motion he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her neck. Toph's skin was freezing. "I'm so sorry I didn't save you. I'm so sorry."

"I can't swim," she mumbled.

"Yeah, I figured that out now," he said.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I thought I was going to die."

"I know," he said. "I promise I'll save you next time."

"There won't be a next time," she said. She shivered. "I'm never going to go near water again."

"But on the off chance that you do," Sokka said. He adjusted her against his body. "I promise I'll come and save you."

She was silent for a moment. "Okay," she said finally. She rubbed the side of her nose. "I guess."

Sokka locked his arms around her, knowing she could feel every heavy beat of his heart. Whether she liked it or not, the next time he thought she needed protecting, he'd be there.

And as she touched her cool damp cheek to his shoulder, he smiled. _I think she'll like it._

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**Author's Notes:**

Aw, drabbly goodness.

I wrote this while rewatching season #2, and wondering how all that played out. 'Cause all we saw was Katara and Aang kicking some sea dragon tail, and it made me curious. The next drabble springboards from this one (and to be honest, I like it better than this one).

Next: "Moonlight"


	7. Moonlight

Drabble #7: "Moonlight"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryke, not me.

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**Drabble #7: "Moonlight"**

**Setting: During second season, while living in Ba Sing Se**

Toph kicked drowsily at the covers. The thick down comforter fluffed up, then sank back down. She sighed. It was impossible to sleep in this cloud of a bed.

She swung her legs over the side and scooted down until her bare toes brushed the floor. It was much farther away than her tired mind thought, and she hit the floor hard.

From across the room she heard Katara grunt in her sleep and roll over. Toph pushed herself up, dusted off her knees, and crept down the hallway.

The lavish house was quiet and cold. Usually walking on such smooth, cool marble allowed her to see clearly, but everything was paneled in wood and decorated with gold and coated with enamel and…well, as nice as it was to be in a real house again, sometimes she missed walking through the mud.

The door to the boys' room was slightly ajar. Toph paused and leaned against the wall, pressing her palms against the doorframe.

There were two breathing patterns. One was light, slow, and steady, with a well-paced heartbeat. That was Aang. The other pattern was faster and deeper. The heartbeat was almost sporadic. Toph frowned. It was Sokka.

She rubbed the ball of her foot against the floor. It felt like he was sitting up in his bed, although it was difficult to tell. In any case, he wasn't sleeping.

Suddenly his feet touched the ground. Toph scrambled away from the door and ducked behind a wide pillar. Sokka loped past her, not even noticing her. His footsteps echoed in her ankles as he walked down the hall. Toph waited for him to disappear, then followed at a safe distance.

Sokka slid the back door open with a slow chinking noise. The cool night air, heady with the smells of late night rain and freshly turned mud and spring leaves, surrounded Toph and brushed against her cheeks. Sokka walked out onto the porch and sat down, dangling his long legs off the side and not even bothering to close the door. Toph knelt behind the wall.

"Hey."

Toph started, almost falling backwards. _He couldn't have spotted me!_

"Hey, Yue."

She relaxed for a moment before she remembered to wonder who Yue might be.

"So…we got to Ba Sing Se safely," Sokka said. "Thanks for keeping an eye on us. We're trying to get in to see the earth king, but no idea how that's going to go. We really don't have time to waste."

Toph listened to him talk. His voice was soft and light, more gentle than she had heard him speak before. And he was comfortable talking like this. At one point he changed positions, lying on his back with the soft rumbling of his chest vibrating right into the soles of her feet.

"Really, Yue…I know you're watching over us," Sokka said. "There's no way we could have gotten all the way here without you keeping us safe. And…you know I loved you first. You'll always have that. But Suki's special."

Toph scowled. She didn't see what was so special about Suki. Sure, she was a great warrior and she knew Sokka for a while and she traveled all the way through the Serpent's Pass with them, but really. Really! Suki? Come on.

"I couldn't kiss her…"

Toph relaxed.

"…until right before she left."

Toph's mouth twisted. She wasn't quite sure why the thought of Sokka kissing another girl bothered her so much. He was grown up, he could do what he wanted. If she liked him and he didn't like him, so be it. Life would go on. She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"And thanks for watching Toph, too."

Toph's stomach flipflopped.

"I didn't know she couldn't swim. I thought she was going to drown." She heard him sigh heavily, and the sound of his long fingers running through his hair. "If I lost her, I don't know what I would do."

She sank back against the wall. Her fingertips felt tingly.

"Goodnight, Yue. And thanks."

He stood up. Toph ran lightly down the hall. She had already turned the corner when she heard the door close behind him. She ran past the boys' room and into hers.

"Toph?"

Toph took a step back. Katara was awake. "What? I didn't do anything," she blurted out.

"Why are you up?" she asked. "Are you sick? Did you have a nightmare?"

"No, I'm fine," Toph said quickly. "I just couldn't sleep, so I walked around the house."

"Okay," Katara yawned.

Toph climbed into her bed; the soft feather mattress felt inviting rather than smothering. "Hey…Katara?"

"Hm?"

She drummed her fingers on the headboard. "Um…who's Yue?" she ventured.

"Where did you hear that?" Katara asked.

Toph frowned, unable to read her tone. "Well…Sokka said something…uh…in his sleep, when I walked past his room," she lied.

Katara sighed. "Yue is the princess of the northern water tribe," she explained.

Toph's heart sank. A warrior she could compete with, but a princess? She didn't even know Sokka liked the princess-type. A sudden stab of jealousy ran through her.

"Yue sacrificed her life during the northern siege in order to save the moon spirit," Katara said. "She died in Sokka's arms."

The jealousy turned to guilt, and made Toph's stomach sink. "Oh," she said.

Katara yawned again, shifting in her bed. "I think he still misses her," she said sleepily. "And I'm pretty sure he feels like it was his fault. It wasn't, though."

"Oh," Toph said again.

"That's why he's so protective so much. I mean, I'm his only sister, and Suki…well, there's something with her," Katara said. Toph's heart thunked on her ribcage with disappointment. "And if anything ever happened to you…I don't know what he would do. He'd be devastated."

"Oh," Toph said for the third time. Her fingertips tingled again.

"Well, good night, Toph," Katara yawned, pulling the covers up to her ears.

"Good night," Toph murmured. She turned over onto her stomach, snuggling her cheek against the soft pillow.

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**Author's Notes:**

This is the continuation of the previous one-shot. There isn't much interaction between Sokka and Toph, but it's still pretty sweet and precious.

I always wondered how Toph found out about Yue. I kind of like the idea of her poking around for the story on her own. And I think that she would secretly feel a little more gentle to Sokka whenever anything that might be connected to Yue pops up.

Sorry for the late update. I started back at school yesterday (senior in college! Yikes!) and jumped right in four-hour-long daily rehearsals for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It owns my face.

Coming soon: "Mothers"


	8. Mothers

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.

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**Drabble #8: "Mothers"**

**Setting: between season two and season three**

Sokka draped over the railing of the ship. The cool, salty air bit at his face and made his lips sting. It was nice to be back on the sea, surrounded by water. His earliest memories were filled with cool summer days on board his father's ship. His father stood at the helm, laughing. Katara sat in the prow, playing with her dolls, her hair woven in the two thick braids of a young water-tribe girl. And his mother sitting on the rigging, singing, smiling, laughing, her clear eyes bright and her skin glowing.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sokka glanced over his shoulder. Toph stood at his elbow, her eyes as foggy as the skies. "Nothing," he said.

She wrapped her slender arms around the railing. "You're thinking about something," she said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not going to tell you about it, okay? I don't feel like talking about it," he said.

"All right," she said.

Sokka stared over the still, calm sea. Next to him Toph rested her chin on the top of the railing. Her sightless eyes didn't blink, despite the steady wind. Toph licked her lips. "It's salty," she commented.

"Yeah," Sokka said.

A hairpin worked its way loose from her bun. She sighed, tugged out the other combs and pins, and shoved them in her pocket. Her long hair uncoiled in slow motion and blew back in the wind.

"I hope we'll dock soon," Toph said.

"Yeah," Sokka answered.

They fell back in comfortable silence. Seagulls ducked and called above the waves. The pale late afternoon sunshine turned the water gray. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"I think Aang's a little better," Toph said. "Katara's still worried, though."

"Katara's really motherly," Sokka said. "She's always been like that." He shifted his weight. "She took care of me after our mother died."

"How old were you?"

"What?" Sokka asked.

Toph pushed a heavy lock of hair out of her face. "How old were you when she died?" she asked.

"Eight," he said. "Well, almost eight. Katara was six."

"That's young," she said. "What happened?"

Sokka rubbed the bridge of his nose. "There was a Fire Nation raid, a few hours before dawn," he said. "It was cold that night, so Katara and I were both sleeping in our parents' room." The words were spilling out faster and easier than he had thought. "When they attacked, Dad ran out, and Mom hid us in the house. But the soldier found us. Mom tried to protect us, but he stabbed her." The wind stung his eyes, making them water. "He…he stabbed her in the side, right in front us. She was dead before the sun was completely up."

Toph was quiet. His eyes smarted; he dashed at them with the back of his arm. He was glad Toph couldn't see this.

"I never spent time with my mother," she said softly. "She spent all of her time either at a party or getting ready for a party. Besides, I scared her."

Sokka looked at her. Her pale porcelain face was as calm as the sea in front of them. "Your mother was scared of you?" he said.

"My eyes frighten her." Toph was matter-of-fact, emotionless. "All she could remember when she was with me was that I was blind. So she left me alone."

"I'm sorry," Sokka said. It was the only thing he could think to say.

"Don't be," she said. "I don't know what I'm missing." She turned in his direction. "I'm sorry for you. It must be hard to have a mother, and then lose her."

"We were both really close to her, me and Katara," Sokka said. "And she was only twenty-eight when she was killed." He raked his fingers through his ponytail. "But she'd be thirty-six today."

Toph rested her chin on her arms and leaned back on her heels. "What was she like?" she asked.

Sokka half smiled. "She was funny," he said. "Funnier than Dad. She was a better fisherman than most of the men in the village. And she liked singing. She used to sing when she went fishing, actually, she said it lulled the fish into a false sense of security."

Toph smiled. "She sounds nice," she said. She sighed out of the corner of her mouth, lifting a strand of hair off her forehead. "I know my mother loves me, but I don't think she likes me very much."

Sokka looked down at her. She looked slightly lost and vulnerable, with her dark hair blowing around her pale face and her small teeth lightly biting her lips. It was innocent and childlike and somehow very appealing. "I'm sure she likes you," he said.

"No," she sighed. "You're lucky. You have family. I just have parents."

"Aren't they the same thing?" Sokka asked.

She shook her head. "Parents are two individuals who have a child together. A family spends time together and yells at each other and tells stupid jokes to each other." She rubbed behind her ear. "I don't have that."

"Sokka!" Sokka turned around to see his sister stomping towards them. "What are you doing?"

"Counting seagulls?" he suggested.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," Katara retorted, her hands on her hips. "Dinner's almost ready, and no, Dad didn't make it tonight. Come in and wash up."

"All right, all right," he sighed.

"And you!" Katara took Toph by the arm and pried her away from the railing. "You shouldn't be out here on deck when you can't see."

"Katara, I can't see _ever_," Toph reminded her patiently.

Sokka tucked an arm around the small girl's shoulder. "Besides, she's with me," he said. Toph nestled against him, shielding her face from the cool wind. His heart unexpectedly flipflopped.

Katara did not seem appeased. "If she falls overboard, I blame you," she said. Her nostrils flared. "And put a coat on, Toph, it's cold out here!" She stormed away.

"Are you cold?" Sokka asked.

Toph shrugged. "Eh, it's been worse."

He pulled off his coat and draped it around her. It swallowed her up. Toph drew the collar around her chin and shook out the sleeves. "Wow. That fits."

She looked up at him, her eyes staring somewhere over his shoulder, and smiled. "Thank you," she said.

Sokka melted. "You're welcome," he said softly. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Now come on."

She walked timidly alongside him, her tiny feet struggling to keep her upright against the rolling of the ship. Sokka held onto her tightly. "You know, Toph," he said. "Katara thinks of you as her little sister. I guess you could say she's family."

"What does that make you, my older brother?" Toph said, screwing up her face. Sokka studied her. She looked…disappointed.

"Well, you never know," he said off-hand. "Maybe when we're all grown up we'll get married and I'll be your husband."

"I doubt it," she said, wrinkling her nose, but she smiled. **  
-**

**-**

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**Author's Note:**

Aren't they just the c-yuetest?!

This came so easily once I started- and I actually started it sometime in, oh, March or April. So yeah. That's why I don't reference the actual episode. It hadn't aired yet. I do, however, go back to the oneshot I wrote called "Last Night." (It needs a new title. Any ideas?) I like to create my own canon whenever it's not available. It gives me a personal sense of continuity even if people only read one or two stories I've written for one genre. For instance, if you've ever read my Shaman King stories, I wrote a backstory for Anna Kyoyama called "Child" and I refer back to it in almost every single one of my other stories (and I've written a lot of Shaman King stories. _A lot_ a lot).

So yeah.

Coming up next: "Slightly Green"

(and no, it has nothing to do with seasickness).


	9. Slightly Green

Drabble #10: "Homecoming"

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryke, not me.

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**Drabble #9: "Slightly Green"**

**Setting: Season three, after episode #13**

"Sokka."

He glowered across the campfire. Toph and Zuko sat next to each other, their knees touching, laughing. _Laughing_. It was a sign of the apocalypse.

"Sokka?"

Toph stretched out her short legs, showing off her small bandaged feet. Zuko patted her knee, his face falling solemn. She poked him in the ribs and smiled.

"Sokka!"

"What?" he snarled.

Katara banged a plate across the top of his head. "Pay attention, Sokka," she snapped. "Dinner's ready, and you're in the way."

"Well, sorry," he snapped back, scooting out of the way and falling off the stone in the process. The Duke snickered. "What?"

"Nothing," he said innocently.

Sokka snatched up a plate and stomped over to the campfire. Katara tossed a large spoonful of something vaguely edible. "Here," she said. "You must be hungry."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

She added another half-spoonful to his plate. "You're always grumpy when you haven't eaten."

"I'm not grumpy," he scowled.

"Oh, really," Katara said with an I'm-the-little-sister-and-I-know-everything look. She cast a surreptitious glance across the campfire. "Either you're hungry, or you're jealous of-"

"Hungry," Sokka barked, and shoved a large spoonful in his mouth.

Zuko skirted the edge of the fire holding out two plates. "How's Toph doing?" Katara asked civilly.

"Better," Zuko said. "The infection is improving."

"Well, good for you," Sokka muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Zuko shrugged and took the plates back, handing one to Toph. She smiled up at him, her pale face illuminated by the firelight. Sokka viciously stabbed his spoon into his food.

"You know, it can't hurt you anymore," Aang said.

"Shut up," Sokka growled.

Aang scooted closer. "You upset, buddy?"

Sokka bared his teeth.

"Well, it can't be that you're grumpy 'cause you're hungry, 'cause you're eating now," Aang said.

"I don't get grumpy when I'm hungry," Sokka snapped.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Aang said agreeably. He darted a glance across the campfire. Toph balanced her small bandaged feet on Zuko's bent knee. The corner of his mouth curled into a half-smile. Sokka nearly choked on his spoon. "So…you like…"

"I don't like Toph," Sokka mumbled. "I mean, I like her, she's a sweet kid, but I don't like like…" His voice trailed off. Toph laughed at something and ducked her head, tucking a strand of silky hair behind her ear, her sightless eyes dancing and flickering.

Aang patted him on the shoulder. "You're just jealous that she's spending all of her time with Zuko," he said. "Believe me, I know what that's like. With the whole Zuko and Katara thing-"

"Listen, Aang, not in the mood to hear you talk about pining for my sister," Sokka scowled.

Aang waved his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said. "All I'm saying is that you have to give a girl space. Make sure she knows you like her, and then back away. But not so far away where she can't see you. Stay in her peripheral vision, figuratively speaking Although this is Toph we're talking about, so there isn't any peripheral vision, so…hm, what would be a good metaphor? Maybe a-"

"Look, Aang, I don't need your advice on girls, okay?" Sokka said. "I'm good at all this girl stuff. I can handle it."

Zuko cuffed Toph lightly on the chin. She laughed again. Sokka gritted his teeth.

"Just remember to let her know you like her, and then…" Aang swung his head around to look at Sokka. "She doesn't know you like her, does she?"

"She might know," Sokka muttered around the corner of his mouth.

"She totally doesn't know!" Aang said. "Sokka, that's rule number one!"

Sokka jumped to his feet, overturning his plate into the dirt. "I can handle it just fine!" he yelped.

"Sokka?" Toph said.

He looked around- the plate on the ground, Toph's wide eyes looking in the wrong direction, Aang's smirk. His cheeks flamed. "Nothing," he stammered. "Nothing at all." He plunked back down.

Aang glanced slyly at Katara. "Hey, Zuko," he said. "I was wondering if you can help me with that new move. I can't seem to get it right."

"Sure," Zuko said, gently setting Toph's feet back on the ground. He traipsed off behind Aang.

"Haru, the Duke, come with me. We need to fill up the water barrels," Katara said. "Teo, you too."

Sokka folded his arms, staring glumly into the flickering heart of the fire. Toph scooped up a spoonful of her dinner. His eyes locked on her delicate face.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked.

"I'm not staring," he mumbled.

Sokka stared. Toph stared back coolly, her pale foggy eyes blank and aimed in the wrong direction. "Are you sure you're not staring at me?" she said.

"Yes," he stammered. "No. I mean…" He cleared his throat. "Can I sit by you?"

"I guess," she shrugged. Sokka loped over to her and plunked down on the step. He sighed heavily. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me," he said.

"Okay," she shrugged.

Sokka studied her. Her jet black hair glowed dark blue in the firelight; her pale round cheeks were rosy. "Toph?" he ventured.

"What?" she asked, turning towards the sound of his voice. Her foggy eyes, fringed with thick black lashes, shone brightly.

Sokka turned away, his shoulder sagging. "Nothing," he said glumly.

Toph sighed, resting her pointed little chin in her hands. She had a perfect heart-shaped face. Sokka stared at her.

"Um," he said.

"Um what?"

His heart pounded, thudding against his ribcage in fluttering, shuddering beats. His stomach twisted.

"Noth-"

"Sokka, if you say 'nothing' again, I'm going to-"

Sokka lunged forward, grabbing her by the shoulders, and smashed his mouth against hers. Toph squealed, thumping her tiny fists into his upper arms. Sokka relaxed his mouth. Toph's lips were soft and sweet and clumsy against his. _I guess this is her first kiss_, he thought, surprised. He pulled away gently.

"Wh…wha…what was that?" she gasped.

Wide eyed and breathless, she was even more beautiful than usual. "I just wanted to let you know…that I like you," he said, flustered. In one rapid motion he jumped up and stalked away, the feel of her soft lips burning on his.

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**Author's Notes:**

And…fluff. Yay!

I love this one for one sole reason: Aang saying "You okay, buddy?" Yeah. I rarely write Aang, and I rarely write him well, but that line makes me crack myself up. Kind off.

Was it in these ANs or the ANs for "When Things Change" that I mention I create my own canon? I think it was WTC, so I'll explain again. Whenever I write a story that is not AU, I keep that in my memory and it becomes part of my personal canon. So in this one, when Zuko talks about Toph's infection getting better, that's a reference back to the oneshot "Penance." So yeah.

This is one of my personal favorite Mudkips chapters, b-t-dubs.

**Coming next: "Homecoming"**


	10. Homecoming

Drabble #10: "Homecoming"

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.

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**Drabble #10: "Homecoming"**

**Setting: After the end of season 3**

Toph's heart thudded repeatedly. Blood raced through her fingers at manic speed. "I don't think I'm going to do this," she said, halting.

Sokka spun on his heel and stopped in front of her. "For the twentieth time, Toph," he said. "You're going to do this."

"I can't," she said. "I just…I just can't, okay?"

"You owe them this," Sokka said. Toph could feel his annoyance. "You're the one who ran away. You need to at least let them know you're alive."

"I'll dictate a letter," Toph said.

Sokka's big hand closed over her elbow. "Toph," he said sternly. "You're going to go, even if I have to carry you."

Toph scowled and planted her feet firmly on the cobblestone street. _No one could get past this_, she thought, but Sokka's arms closed around her. In one swift movement he tossed her over his shoulder. "Lemme go!" she shrieked, pounding her fists against his spine.

"Tough luck," he said airily. "Let's go. Your house is on the left, right?"

"I'm not telling you," she sulked.

He walked silently for a while, Toph bouncing up and down on his shoulder. His shoulderblade jabbed her in the stomach. Her irritation melted away slowly, dissolving into anxiety. Her stomach twisted. "I'll walk," she said softly.

Sokka slid her carefully down to the ground. "You're not going to try to run away?" he asked. Toph shook her head. Sokka took her by the hand, his long fingers closing around her small palm. "It's going to be okay."

"I'm scared," she whispered. "They probably hate me."

"No one could hate you, Toph," Sokka said. There was not a hint of wavering in his tone. "And your parents adore you."

"That was before I ran away," she admitted. "I've been gone for so long. Maybe…maybe they don't want me anymore."

Sokka stopped dead in his tracks. Toph tumbled into him. He knelt down and gripped her shoulders. "Toph," he said. "Stop talking like that. Your parents love you. They want you back. And if they don't, which isn't going to happen, then I am taking you back to the south pole with me, because I love you."

She smiled and touched her fingertips lightly against his cheeks. He was flushing with emotion and late summer sun. "Okay," she said softly. "I believe you."

Sokka's hand closed over hers again and he led her down the street. Toph's footsteps slowed as they drew closer to her house. _What if Sokka's wrong? What if they don't want me back? What if they've forgotten me?_

Sokka's impetuous, passionate words echoed in her ears. _I am taking you back to the south pole with me, because I love you_.

She squeezed his hand tightly as he opened the back gate of the gardens. "Come on, Toph," he said softly..

Toph's heart pounded; it hurt so badly it felt like it was going burst free of her chest. Some distance away, through the mown grass and the fresh dirt and the blooming flowers, she could feel a heartbeat. Soft, light, and steady beats.

The beats quickened. "Toph?"

Toph swallowed hard. Light footsteps, belonging to a pair of feet that were small like her own, vibrated through the ground. "Mom?" she whispered. Her throat tightened. "Mom, I'm home."

"Oh, Toph." Sokka dropped her hand as the footsteps quickened. "Oh, Toph, oh, _Toph_." Her mother's arms closed around her, drawing her tightly to her.

Toph buried her face in her mother's shoulder, pressing her cheek to the familiar feel of thick glossy silk. The vivid smell of poppies and saffron enveloped her in a homey cloud. "I'm home, Mama," she whispered.

Poppy fell to her knees, pulling Toph to her tightly, and rocked her like she was a much smaller child. Tears dropped on Toph's forehead. "Toph, you're safe," she sobbed. "You're home, you're safe."

Toph nestled in the safety of her mother's embrace, clinging to her sleeves. "I'm sorry, Mama," she whispered. "I'm so sorry I ran away."

Poppy pulled back, brushing Toph's hair away from her face. "I'm just glad you're home," she said brokenly. "I though we'd lost you."

"You didn't lose me, Mama," Toph said. She tightened her arms around her mother's neck. "I just needed to help. They needed me."

"We needed you too, Toph," Poppy said.

Toph pulled back. "They needed me more," she said. She touched her mother's cheekbone lightly. "You have to believe me."

She felt her mother's cheeks move under her fingers. Poppy smiled. "I do, darling," she said. Poppy stood up, her arms slipping around her daughter. "And who are you?"

"Sokka," he said. "I'm Sokka, from the Water Tribe."

"Did you take care of my daughter?" Poppy asked.

Toph felt him standing straight and tall, his broad shoulders squared. "Yes," he said.

"He took really good care of me," Toph said softly.

Poppy kept one arm tight around her daughter, but she held out her other hand. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much."

"She means a lot to me," Sokka said. Toph leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. She could hear the gentle smile in his voice. "More than I had realized."

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Author's Note:

Do you know what bothers me about the series finale? (Well, there's a couple of loose ends that I wanted to see tied, but this is a big one…) Did Toph ever return to her parents? I mean, in season 2 they hired a guy to track her down, and she wrote them a letter in "The Runaway," but that was kind of it.

At least Bryke acknowledged the lack of Tophness in the last half of season 3. (Yes, I'm one of those dorks who listens to audio commentaries…)

And because I didn't update last week, I have TWO Mudkips for you! Yay!

**COMING UP NEXT: **"Blood"


	11. Blood

Drabble #11: "Blood"

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.

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**Drabble #11: "Blood"**

**Setting: During second season**

The cold numbness shot through her side. Toph screamed and stumbled forward, tumbling to the ground.

_I'm okay. I'm okay. It's just a-_

Something hot and sticky gushed over her stomach. Toph touched her side. The warm viscous liquid clung to her fingers.

"I'm bleeding," she mumbled. "I'm bleeding!"

Toph shivered and clutched her side. The hot pain radiated through her body. She had never been wounded like this before. Scrapes, yes. Cuts, yes. Bruises, by the dozen. Even a few broken bones. But bleeding?

Toph's heart pounded. Her blood sloshed through her veins, crashing and coursing through her body. The wound pulsed. Blood leaked through the gash. She could feel every fluctuation, every drop, every pump. Toph covered her eyes with the back of her forearm and whimpered, gnawing on her lip. Her blood coursed through her body and gushed out in a sickening wave.

"Toph?"

Her body went cold. Sokka knelt next to her, throwing his boomerang in the dirt. "Toph, hold still," he commanded. His fingers probed the wound, slipping against the edges.

"Don't!" she cried, trying to pull away. She fell back into the pooling blood and let out a choked sob.

"Just hold still. I need to get the knife out of you," he said.

Toph's head swam as the knife wriggled in her side. "Sokka, I can't!" she said. "I c-can't!" She gripped his forearm and tried to sit up. The pain in her side intensified.

"I have to," he said grimly as he tried to tug the knife free.

The ground beneath Toph swayed and spun. "Sokka, I'm going to…I'm can't…I feel…"

--

Toph fell back, her hand slipping from his arm. "Toph!" Sokka called. He shook her shoulder lightly; she flopped like a rag doll. "Toph, stay with me, okay? Stay with me!"

Sokka glanced back at her unconscious face and then at the throwing knife lodged in the girl's side. _At least she can't feel it right now. _With a quick, careful movement he pulled out the knife. Fresh hot blood rushed over his hands. Sokka unbuckled Toph's belt and threw it to the side. He pulled her clothes away, exposing the dark gash in her soft white skin.

"Katara!" he screamed. "Katara!"

His sister still fought with Mai. "Sokka, I'm-"

"Let Aang handle it, I need you!" he shouted. He stared down at Toph's still, ashen face. Her gray lips gaped open.

Katara fell to her knees beside them. "What happened to her?" she demanded.

"A throwing knife," Sokka said.

Katara pulled out her bending water. "She's losing blood," she said. "She's losing it fast."

Sokka pulled off his tunic, hastily folded it, and pressed it against Toph's side. "Will that help?" he asked.

Katara nodded. "It should," she said. "How long has she been out?"

"A few minutes," Sokka said. He readjusted the makeshift tourniquet.

Katara lifted Toph's small feet onto her knees and rubbed her ankles. "Once the bleeding has slowed down I can close the wound," she said. Her eyes were anxious.

Sokka pulled Toph's tunic free and stroked his hand across her thin little stomach. "Come on, wake up," he coaxed. He pressed the wadded cloth harder against the raw edges of her wound.

Toph's head turned slightly. "She's waking up," Katara said, relieved.

Sokka cupped his hand under her little chin. "Come on, Toph," he said. "You're going to be okay."

--

Her mind felt thick and her tongue felt heavy. Something pressed against her side and her stomach, and someone's fingers rubbed against her ankles. "What happened?" she mumbled.

"You got hurt, Toph," Sokka said, his voice grave and gentle.

Her body throbbed, the blood waving from her heart through her veins and against the firm pressure on her side. "Am I going to die?" she quavered.

A warm angular cheek pressed against her soft freezing one. "No, no, you're not going to die," Sokka said. "I'll make sure off that."

Katara pulled the soaked cloth away from the gap in her side. "I'm going close up the wound, all right?" she said. "Sokka, hold her still."

Toph braced herself against Sokka's knee. His hands closed around her shoulders and stomach. The water stung against her ripped skin. Toph cried out.

"It's okay, it's okay," Sokka said, his grip intensifying.

Katara bended the water over the wound, helping to close the gap. It burned terribly. Toph jerked up, choking on a sob. "Please don't cry, Toph, please don't cry," Sokka begged.

The burning pain continued, brushing back and forth, back and forth over the torn skin. Toph gulped for breath, struggling to stay still. Sokka held her gently. Katara closed the wound and wrapped bandages over her side.

Toph sagged in Sokka's arms, and her hands brushed against his tunic; it felt thick and wet. "I bled all over you," she said.

"I don't care," he said firmly. Sokka wrapped his arms around her, nestling her head against his shoulder. He rocked her back and forth. "I don't care. I'm just glad you're all right."

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Author's Note:

Has anyone else thought of this? That she can feel her own bloodstream?

That was really the only inspiration for this oneshot. I was sitting in First Aid and Emergency Care class, trying to avoid the picture on the powerpoint of the little boy with the fork sticking out of the bridge of his nose, and this idea popped out. So I wrote it.

(And apparently the little boy was okay).

**COMING NEXT: **"Don't Scare Me Like That"


	12. Don't Scare Me Like That

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke, not me.

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**Drabble #12: "Don't Scare Me Like That"**

**Setting: during season three**

Sokka stopped dead in his tracks. "Katara…"

"What?" she asked, rummaging in her pack. "I swear, it's in here…"

Sokka grabbed her by the shoulders. "Katara, where's Toph?"

His sister stared at him blankly. Sokka's heart plummeted to his shoes.

"I-I thought she was right behind me," Katara stammered. She turned around, as if she expected the smaller girl would pop out of nowhere. "She was…I kept a close eye on her!"

Sokka let go of his sister and yanked Aang by the collar. "Where is she?" he demanded.

"I thought she was with Katara!" Aang yelped.

"Well, she's not with either of you," Sokka snapped.

"Katara, you go back to camp and see if she's there," Sokka ordered. "Aang, you backtrack through the market. I'll go in the back streets. We'll meet back at camp." He shouldered his bag and stalked away.

It would be easy for an adult to get lost in the city, and even easier for a blind child. It didn't matter if she was a earthbending prodigy; an unscrupulous enough individual could find plenty of ways around that. Toph was an easy target- small, young, pretty, and disabled.

Sokka gritted his teeth as he turned resolutely into the red light district. He'd met plenty of individuals on his travels who wouldn't think twice of taking advantage of a child. Sokka looked up. The sky was darkening, thickening. Early evening coolness draped heavily over the rickety buildings. Several women who could have been anywhere from forty to fourteen sat on the stoops and steps, their shoulders and waists and knees bared. None of them met him in the eyes, but several called out half-hearted offers. Sokka focused on the alleyways and hiding places lurking in the background, ignoring their calls. He walked past a particularly young girl dressed in orange, her eyes empty but her lips curled into a smile. She couldn't have been more than fifteen.

"You looking for someone in particular?" she asked.

Sokka stopped. Her makeup was thick and cracked around her eyes. "I'm looking for a little blind girl, about twelve years old," he said.

She grimaced. "Like 'em young?" she asked loftily, as if she was some wise matron.

"No, she's lost," he said. "She's small, about this high, with black hair and pale eyes. She got separated from us."

"She your sister or something?" the child-whore asked.

"Kind of," Sokka said. "Not really. I mean…I care about her…"

"Wish I had a brother to come after me," she said bitterly. "I ain't seen a little blind girl, but I'll keep an eye out for her."

"Thank you," he said, but the young girl had already disappeared into the tenement. The sign above advertised SUN MAIDEN HOUSE in tipsy, garishly painted letters. Sokka thought of Toph, her body bared and her eyes soulless, and walked faster.

The yellow and orange lamps burned harsher as the night grew blacker. An hour passed, then two, then three. Sokka's stomach growled with hunger and his feet ached. _She must be hungrier and more tired than me_, he thought, and he kept going.

Drunkards stumbled around him, sloshing their spirits on his shoes. Painted girls laughed, the sound harsh and hollow. Sokka ignored them, his eyes trained for Toph. There was nothing.

Sokka stopped to lean against a storefront, resting for a moment before he could keep going. "She _bit _me," a man said in the loud, uninhibited tones of the drunk. "That brat _bit _me."

"With a face like yours, I'd bite you too," his companion roared, slapping his big thigh absently. "No wonder she ran."

The first man grabbed at his hand; several small marks stood out on the web between his thumb and forefinger. "Aw, I just wanted to give her a little kiss," he slurred.

"She knew you wanted more than a kiss," the other man scoffed, his face florid with drink. "And that's all you're gonna get for a while. None'a the others will want anything to do with you when they find out you're not man enough to make a woman out of a blind girl."

Rare hot anger seethed through Sokka's vision. He grabbed the neck of the more coherent man and threw him to the ground. "Where is she?" he demanded through his teeth.

"Wh-what?" he stammered. He cowered behind his raised hands. "I dunno what you're talking about."

Sokka tightened his grip. He desperately wished, for the first time in life, that he was a firebender so he could turn this idiot into a heap of ash. "Where's the little blind girl?" he raged.

"Uh…she ran off that way," he said, weakly pointing.

Sokka let go, letting the man fall onto the rocky streets. He ran down the narrow alleys, looking for a sign- a footprint, a torn piece of clothing, _anything_. Sokka turned down a crooked alleyway and stopped at the dead end. There was nothing but a heap of rocks, but it didn't look natural. "Toph?" he said gently.

The rocks shifted slightly.

"Toph, it's me. It's Sokka," he said. "You can come out."

The rocks melted away. Toph stumbled out of the rubble, her arms outstretched. "Sokka!" she cried, and she fell against him.

Sokka closed his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest. She shook like a tree in a windstorm. "You're safe," he said hoarsely. "You're safe."

He pulled back and examined her with skilled eyes. Dried blood streaked down her face and her slender neck. Her red clothes were torn and ripped; the fingerprint-shaped bruises screamed silently what had caused the damage. Toph's slim arms and legs were dirty and scraped. The golden band in her hair was half torn away, leaving long locks of hair tangling over her ears, her narrow shoulders, her back. She trembled, leaning heavily on his broad shoulders. Sokka fumbled in his pack for his waterskin. He poured some of the contents onto a clean, dry cloth and dabbed at the thickly caked blood on her face.

"He…he…he tried to…" Toph struggled to put into words the unspeakable evil.

"I know," he said softly. She winced, swallowing her tears, as the cool cloth touched her bruised nose. "Did he…did he hurt you? Did he touch-"

She shook her head violently. "I didn't let him," she said, some of her typical bravado returning.

Sokka smiled, cupping her round face in his hands. "You're safe now," he said. "Let's get you home." He picked her up carefully. Toph wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him like a koala monkey. Sokka draped his cloak over her naked shoulders, shielding her from the chilly evening and the lecherous stares. Toph buried her face in the crook of his neck.

She was easy to carry, much easier than he had expected. Her dirty bare feet dangled against the backs of his thighs. She still shivered. "Are you cold?" Sokka asked.

"A little," she whispered.

Sokka tugged his tunic open at the neck and let her press her cool cheek against his warm skin. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

She turned her head in the direction of his voice. "Can I get something to drink?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "We'll stop." He looked around at the painted women lurking by the doors, the hulking men leering at the beautiful child in his arms. Sokka tightened his grip, grateful that she couldn't see them. "Let's just get back towards the market. I'll get you a drink, and then we'll head back to camp. Katara's got to be worried sick."

"Really?" Toph said, her voice muffled.

"Of course," he said, surprised. "Katara adores you. She didn't mean to lose you."

"Oh," Toph said in a small voice. "That was my fault. I wandered off. I thought I could walk around on my own, but…but I got lost…and that man, he…" She shuddered, the movement traveling violently from her shoulders down. "He kept following me, and telling me I was pretty, and then he…he pushed me up on the wall and tried to kiss me."

Sokka's stomach churned. "You fought back, didn't you?" he said.

Toph flashed a familiar, reassuring, cheeky grin. "I bit 'im," she said.

"Good," Sokka said firmly. Impulsively he kissed her soft round cheek. Toph blushed and ducked her head against his strong broad shoulder. Sokka's ears heated. He hadn't thought that through.

The streets widened. Fewer people lingered on the walks. It was more peaceful, and cleaner. Sokka relaxed. "I'm going to set you down, okay?" he said. "Stay here and I'll get you something to drink."

"Okay," Toph said, unusually agreeable.

Sokka placed her down carefully on a bench. He pointed his finger in her face. She didn't blink. "Don't move," he ordered.

"Okay," she said again, this time with an impish, sheepish smile.

Sokka dug in his pockets for a few loose coins and ordered a drink. He glanced over his shoulder as the sleepy shopkeeper got his order. Toph sat on the bench, drowsily digging her toes in the dirt. There were still traces of blood on her fair face. The shopkeeper handed him the cold drink, Sokka handed him the coins and walked back.

"What'd you bring me?" she asked.

Sokka placed the big cup in her hands, closing her fingers around it. "It's lemon mango," he said. "Hope you like it."

She gulped eagerly, spilling a little bit on her chin. Sokka wiped it off his thumb. "You must be thirsty," he commented.

Toph set the cup down, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "I haven't had anything since we left the camp this morning," she said. "Of course I'm thirsty."

Sokka tucked an arm around Toph and tugged her close. Her bare shoulders were cold. "I'm sorry," he said.

She sipped her juice, holding the cup with both hands like a child. "It's okay," she said. "It's my own fault for wandering off."

"How'd you get all that blood on your face?" Sokka asked.

"When I bit him, he punched me," Toph said matter-of-factly.

Sokka lifted her chin, studying her pale face in the light of the streetlamps. Her foggy eyes stared serenely at his cheek. "Well, it's not broken," he said. He imagined the big man throwing his fist in Toph's face, the small girl stumbling back as blood spurted through her fingers.

"Are you okay?" Toph asked. "Your heartbeat sped up really fast-"

"I'm fine," he said. "Just drink your juice." Toph obediently sipped the last dregs and set the cup down. Sokka tucked his hands under her arms and picked her up. "Now, let's go home."

Toph nestled her head against his shoulder. He tried to walk as smoothly as possible so as not to jostle her. Sokka swept her thick hair back over her shoulders. Toph drooped. Her locked arms relaxed. She snuggled into his chest. Sokka stroked the back of her neck. As he walked out of the city limits, Toph fell asleep in his arms.

Katara sat by the fire, her face dull and worried in the flickering light. She jumped to her feet when she saw them approaching. "Toph!" she cried.

"Sh, she's asleep," Sokka warned. "Is there a sleeping bag we can put her in?"

"We can put her in mine, it's already set up," Katara said. Sokka set Toph down carefully. Her slender arms and legs drooped as he laid her down. As soon as he let go she rolled over onto her stomach, still fast asleep. "Where did you find her?"

Sokka kept his voice low. "The red light district." Katara blanched. "She's okay," he said hurriedly. "She just had a bad scare."

Katara tucked Toph in snugly. "This is all my fault," she said. She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm awful at this."

"No, you're not," Sokka said. He stroked Toph's hair away from her forehead, smoothing his fingertips across her soft skin. "Toph told me she wandered away. Don't blame yourself. Besides, she's all right."

"What if you hadn't found her?" Katara asked. She placed her hand on Toph's back. "What if she had been…what if someone else had found her?"

Sokka remembered the girl under the streetlights. "I'll always find her," he said fiercely.

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Author's Notes:

I write about prostitution a lot. Has anyone else noticed this? It pops up randomly throughout my stories. It's even a big plot point in my next big Avatar story, "Ecclesiastes." Wonder what that means…

In any case, I love writing Sokka as a rescuing hero. It's fun for me.

Coming up next: "Drinking Buddies."


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